Contents

Background

During his childhood, Kawaki was raised solely by his father, a physically and emotionally abusive drunkard, until Jigen bought him with a large sum of money. Upon taking custody of the boy, Jigen told him that the suffering he endured was over and there was nothing to fear, as he was his new father.[2]

Kawaki being subjected to Jigen's experiment.

Some time afterwards, Jigen took him to a laboratory where he met Amado, telling him that he would give him a gift when they truly become parent and child.[3] Kawaki was one of fifteen children placed in artificial wombs connected by tubes to jars of fluid, through which Jigen attempted to transfer Kāma to them. The first thirteen children all died, however Jigen succeeded with Kawaki, one of his last attempts. Kawaki later awoke with a Kāma branded on his left hand. Despite Jigen's promise of safety, Kawaki would later describe his life from then on to be a living hell.[4] He would constantly be put through gruelling training, all so he'd master the Kāma as Jigen wanted. During it, he would constantly berate Kawaki as only having value as a vessel for the Kāma and would strike the boy whenever he questioned him.

Kawaki eventually also underwent extensive body modification, with microscopic technology being implanted into his body that constantly alters his physiology at the cellular level, granting him unique superhuman abilities similar to a kekkei genkai.[5] At some point he battled Garō, delivering a blow that tore off the man's lower jaw, for which he claims to have apologised.[6]

Personality

Kawaki is shown to be highly aggressive and vulgar to people he dislikes or opposes. At the same time, he can remain calm and collected when questioning strangers, such as when Kawaki listened to Konohamaru Sarutobi's explanation about himself and his team. When not letting his temper get the best of him, Kawaki is shown to be very observant and problematic, easily reading the flow of battle before him and how best to react. Due to the massive suffering he has endured while forced to be a vessel of the Kara, which he described as being a living hell, he would gladly die than be stuck in said hell for the rest of his life. He has even shown signs of PTSD, as simply seeing dripping roots of plants serves as a reminder of his struggles and has left him panting in horror.

Kawaki harbours deep resentment towards the organisation, becoming highly alert and aggressive when facing off against members of the group. He particularly resents Jigen for what he deemed as a violation of his promises of safety, as shown by how he quickly erupted to a rage while unconscious upon being reminded of Jigen's adoption of him and later on when he showed clear resentment while describing Jigen's experiment. Due to his harsh childhood, he is a stranger to simply joys like pastries, as he is openly amazed at their flavor. He is also constantly on guard, instinctively attacking a child for bumping into him, although he claims he was only interested in scaring the child to show him the harshness of life.

Kawaki also seems to possess a dry sense of humour, as was seen when Kawaki made fun of Garō's disfigured jaw, which Kawaki himself caused in the past. He is also shown to be extremely ruthless, killing anyone who either opposes or angers him. However, he is shown to be not above apologising when he does something wrong even if he initially believed it to be unnecessary, as shown by how he apologised, even if half-heartedly, on how he broke the flower vase Himawari gifted to Hinata after seeing how much it hurt her. In addition, he is not above fixing his mistakes if necessary, as although begrudgingly, Kawaki was willing to buy another vase to make Boruto agree to work with him. Over time, Kawaki came to appreciate his relationship with Naruto and his family, risking his life to safe Himawari, although he insisted that it was for self-preservation on needing to keep the Hokage alive.

Over time with his new life in Konohagakure, Kawaki began opening up to others, apparently enjoying the game Extreme: Shinobi Picture Scrolls and showing an interest in learning ninjutsu. He has also apparently come to admire the Seventh Hokage, as he offered to trade an extremely rare Fourth Hokage card for a Seventh Hokage card, hoping to learn more about Naruto.

Later, Kawaki apparently came to despise shinobi as he became driven to end its era once and for all.

Appearance

Kawaki during Konoha's destruction.

Kawaki is a young man with grey eyes and bushy black hair, the sides of which are shaven and blond in colour. As noted by Ino, despite his gruff demeanor, he is very handsome. Additionally, he has a tattoo of the Roman numeral Ⅸ under his left eye, a pair of piercings on his right eyebrow, and stud earrings. Kawaki wears a green shirt with a blue sleeveless vest jacket with grey stripe patterns on the collar and dark pants with a studded belt. He has a Kāma on the palm of his left hand in the shape of a diamond, which spreads across the left half of his face, chest, and arm, glowing red upon activation.[7] During the battle between Naruto and Delta, Kawaki lost his right forearm. It was temporarily replaced by an advanced prosthetic that was powered by Naruto's chakra.

Later on in his life, his right arm was apparently restored. He is seen wearing a violet infinity scarf and belt, white overalls with his chest exposed, and a black vest trench coat.

Abilities

Kawaki creating a shock wave.

Though Kawaki is not a ninja and does not know how to harness his chakra, he is an exceptionally skilled fighter, brutally trained in armed and unarmed combat by Jigen from a young age. In the past he was able to destroy Garō's jaw and dozens of robotic puppets. Even in an exhausted state, his power was enough to repel Team Konohamaru and fend off Garō, easily defeating and killing him upon activating his Kāma, and would have killed Team Konohamaru with a single attack had Boruto not tapped into his own Kāma and absorbed it, with Delta openly praising Kawaki's might.

Since living Konohagakure and taking an interest in ninjutsu, he began learning it from the Seventh Hokage. This included chakra manipulation and shurikenjutsu.

Kāma

Kawaki possesses the Kāma mark, which he acquired after being the only one to survive Jigen's attempt to transfer his own Kāma. Due to his training under Jigen, Kawaki was already capable of activating the mark at will, although at times it does activate out of his control, and properly using it's power. He could absorb ninjutsu and create large-scale explosions with it active. However, using the mark causes his body to overheat, leaving him unconscious.

Body Modifications

Kawaki's body has undergone significant modification at the hands of an extremely talented scientist, down to the level of his circulatory and nervous systems, transforming him into something of a living scientific ninja tool. Upon initial examination, Katasuke Tōno deems the cybernetics in his body a work of art, as advanced as the prosthetic arm he designed for Naruto Uzumaki, if not more so. He also clarifies that unlike Mitsuki, who is a synthetic human that was genetically engineered using organic technology, Kawaki is a human being who was transformed into something else using inorganic technology.

Kawaki generating a blast with his modified arm.

His Shinobi-Ware takes the form of microscopic scientific ninja tools implanted throughout his entire body, which seem to be able to make particular alterations at the cellular level. For example, his body tissue can undergo rapid cellular division, causing it to expand, and it can also instantly undergo sclerosis or malacia to harden or soften. This allows him to partially transform his body in a manner similar to Jūgo's SageTransformation, weaponizing it to produce sharp blades or piercing tendrils; these growths can even be shed, or thrown as projectiles. He can also produce a powerful shockwave from his body, repelling all around, even the ground below him.

Physical Prowess

Kawaki specialises in close-range combat. He is able to easily dodge Garō's blast and is shown to be very resilient, as he could continue fighting effectively despite his battered state. He is proficient in taijutsu, able to go toe-to-toe with Boruto in their fight. Kawaki is later shown to be proficient in using a bō, able to match Boruto's swordsmanship.

New Era

Ao Arc

Main article: Ao Arc
When the blimp that was transporting Kawaki crashed in the Land of Fire near the border, he left the scene, resulting in some of Kara's autonomous puppets pursing him. After travelling a fair distance away from the crash, he defeated all the pursing puppets before falling unconscious.

Kawaki Arc

Upon his body being discovered by Team 7, the shinobi discovered he had an identical mark to Boruto Uzumaki's. When both their seals began to hurt, Kawaki was dreaming of his first time meeting Jigen, leading to him abruptly waking up and destroying the area within his vicinity. Questioning who the team were, Konohamaru identified himself, and asked for information regarding the crash. Refusing to provide information and wanting to be left alone, Boruto revealed to Kawaki he also had Kāma, resulting in Kawaki believing they were pursuers from Kara. As they tried to correct him, Garō made his presence known, announcing his intentions of recovering Kawaki. Launching another attack, Kawaki dodged and began fighting while modifying his body, despite his weakened state. Upon Garō managing to subdue Kawaki, his Kāma activated and strengthened him, leading to Kawaki destroying Garō'a prosthetic arm. Walking towards Garō and absorbing his blast, Kawaki impales him with his modified arm, before killing the Outer with a shock wave.

To his surprise, Boruto instinctively activated his mark to absorb the shock wave and protect his team. This made Kawaki more convinced than ever that they were with Kara. Kawaki told Boruto to tell Jigen if he pursued him, the mountain of corpses would increase. Their conversation was cut short as smoke emerged from his body, leading to Kawaki collapsing and being examined by the shinobi. Ultimately, the Konona-nin decided to bring him back to Konohagakure to meet with the Seventh Hokage. When he awoke, he found himself in a hospital bed surrounded by the Konoha shinobi. Learning that he was in Konoha, Kawaki attempted to flee out of the room's window, but was restrained by Shikamaru Nara. Afterwards, Naruto introduced himself as the Hokage. Later, after an agreement between the five Kage, it was decided for Kawaki to remain unrestrained within Konoha while Naruto watched over him.

Kawaki begins living with Naruto.

Naruto escorted Kawaki through the village to his house, during which he fled for not wanting to be used. To his shock, Naruto effortlessly caught up and blocked his path, prompting Kawaki to continue going to the Hokage's house. There, he attempt to flee again, but in the process destroyed a vase, leading to Naruto asserting his prowess and intimidating Kawaki into submission. When Boruto discovered Kawaki would be living with his family, he begrudgingly apologised before introducing himself. Later, after the frustrated boys fought each other, Kawaki revealed how he obtained his Kāma, and suggested they work together to remove their markings. Telling Boruto he'll replace the vase, Naruto took him to get a replacement. On their way, he met Sarada Uchiha, before arriving at Yamanaka Flowers. There, Kawaki had a panic attack after flower roots reminded him of Jigen's experiment. Seeing how traumatised Kawaki was, Naruto gave him a comforting hug, insisting that it was fine. Upon returning to the Uzumaki house with a new vase and flowers, Boruto gave him glue to repair the broken one.

Kawaki training Boruto to use his Kāma.

Later, while watching Boruto and Naruto spar, Kawaki insisted Boruto try using Kāma, prompting him to activate his to activate Boruto's. The mutual respect and support between the two after the match concluded surprised Kawaki, remembering his own harsh experience with father-figures. Later, Naruto offered for Kawaki to try sparing with Boruto next time. While Kawaki declined as he couldn't use chakra, Naruto insisted that all can learn to do so. Kawaki did admit he would like learning to use a shadow clone, so he could beat himself up. Knowing the feeling of having nothing and no one, Naruto insisted that self-hatred would solve nothing. Afterwards, Kawaki bitterly decided to repair the broken vase. While struggling to fix the vase, Boruto decided to take Kawaki's offer of learning what he knows about their Kāma. Deciding to do so through sparring, the two quickly activated their respect marks. Kawaki then launched a blast at Naruto with the intent of him absorbing it like previously, only for Boruto to instead damage his hand. Naruto called off the match and told the two to perform the Seal of Reconciliation. The event made their marks react. While Boruto saw vision, Kawaki insisted he saw nothing when asked about it.

Kawaki shielding Naruto and Himawari from Delta's attack.

As Naruto alerted the kids that an intruder was approaching them, the group were approached by Delta, who demanded Kawaki to be handed over. Informing Naruto that she was an Inner and how much of a threat she was, Naruto instructed Kawaki to protect himself while he engaged her in battle. Throughout the fight, Kawaki attempted to clam Boruto, explaining how Naruto was controlling the flow of the fight, leading it away from them by going on the defensive so he could go all out. Delta eventually unleashed eye beams that Kawaki noted to be designed to overcome regeneration abilities. When Delta attempted to use Himawari to get Naruto on the path of her eye beams, Kawaki shielded him from the beam, rationalising it as them being good as dead if Naruto had been hit, and considering him and Boruto even regarding Himawari's vase. While the battle continued, Naruto overcame Delta's absorption ability and immobilised her body with his Rasengan, before she self destructed.

Following the battle, Kawaki was brought to Katasuke to repair his arm. When the scientist informed him that the technology in Kawaki's body was too advanced for him to handle, Naruto gave Kawaki one of his prosthetic arms that he powered with his chakra. Shocked at how sincere Naruto was at being nice, Kawaki asked to learn about ninjutsu, which Naruto agreed to and began training him. Proceeding this, Kawaki trained in ninjutsu and continued repairing the vase, as well as spent time with Boruto and his peers, during which he opened a Extreme: Shinobi Picture Scrolls and got a Fourth Hokage card, which he traded for Boruto's Seventh Hokage card. While Naruto slept and Kawaki discovered he was missing the last piece of the vase he constructed, Kurama manifested its head to warn Kawaki not to wander off from Naruto.

Flashforward

In the wake of Konoha's destruction three years after meeting Team Konohamaru, the two faced off on the destroyed Hokage Rock, where Kawaki vowed to defeat him and told Boruto that the shinobi era was over.

Trivia

Kawaki's appearance on the cover of chapter 1.

"Kawaki" (渇き or 乾き) means "dry" or "parched".

Kawaki first appeared in a promotional illustration for the Boruto: Naruto Next Generations manga with a slightly different design, having slightly younger features and wearing a dark blue jacket over a pink shirt and white pants, with his back turned.

Kawaki's appearance on the cover of chapter 1 has him wearing a white jacket over a purple turtle-neck shirt with the tattoo under his left eye resembling a dagger instead of the Roman numeral Ⅸ.